A BILL to repeal §30-1-6a and §30-1-6b of the Code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to further amend said code by
adding thereto a new article, designated §30-1B-1, §30-1B-2,
§30-1B-3, §30-1B-4, §30-1B-5, §30-1B-6, §30-1B-7, §30-1B-8 and
§30-1B-9, all relating to professional licensing requirements
for certain military members and their spouses; making
legislative findings; requiring certain boards to consider
military education, training and experience upon application
for licensure, certification or registration; providing for
licensure renewal during active duty and for six months
thereafter for service members and their spouses without
meeting requirements of continuing education in certain
circumstances and without payment of fees; requiring
licensees, certificate holders and registrants to submit
waiver requests to the boards; providing for expedited
temporary licenses for spouses of active duty service members
in certain circumstances; providing for waiver of temporary
license application fees in certain circumstances; providing
boards with rule-making authority; requiring boards to collect
certain data on applications for licensure; requiring boards
to report data on waivers and temporary licenses in their
annual reports; applicability; and providing for liberal
construction of article.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §30-1-6a and §30-1-6b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, be repealed; and that said code be further amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated §30-1B-1, §30-1B-2,
§30-1B-3, §30-1B-4, §30-1B-5, §30-1B-6, §30-1B-7, §30-1B-8 and
§30-1B-9, all to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1B. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO MILITARY MEMBERS AND THEIR
SPOUSES.

§30-1B-1. Legislative findings and declarations.

The Legislature finds that:

(1) In recognition of the enormous sacrifices made by members
of the Armed Forces of the United States of America and their
families in voluntary service to this state and our nation, the
citizens of West Virginia must endeavor to find new and innovative
ways to improve the lives of military families and support their
personal and professional growth;

(2) Many current and former members of the United States Armed
Forces have acquired extensive academic, professional and
occupational training and experience in various professions and
occupations while serving in the Armed Forces, comparable to or
exceeding that required in this state to register for examination
or qualify for licensure, certification or registration for similar
or related occupations and professions;

(3) Military families are ten times more likely to move from
one state to another than their civilian counterparts, and 35% of
military spouses work in professions that require state licenses,
certifications or registrations;

(4) Armed forces members who return to this state after being
called to active duty service, and spouses accompanying armed
forces members outside of this state or to this state for active
duty, are frequently delayed in beginning employment as
professionals because of issues with obtaining licenses,
certifications or registrations upon arrival or return to West
Virginia;

(5) The boards in this chapter have the particular expertise
necessary to evaluate and determine the adequacy of military
education, training and experience for licensure, certification or
registration and to adopt procedures that ease the burden of
transition for military families through waivers, temporary
licensing, or otherwise, while ensuring competency of professionals
and protecting the citizens of the state from harm.

§30-1B-2. Consideration of military education, training and
experience for licensure or registration, generally.

(a) Except as provided in section eight, and notwithstanding
any law to the contrary, all boards referred to in this chapter
shall, upon presentation of satisfactory evidence by an applicant
for licensure, certification or registration, consider the
individual’s education, training or experience as a member of the
Armed Forces or Reserves of the United States, the National Guard
of any state, or the military reserves of any state, as part of the
evaluation process toward the qualifications to receive, or take
examination for, that respective professional license,
certification or registration.

§30-1B-3. Licensure, certification or registration of persons on
military active duty outside this state; extension of licenses
or registration; waiver of certain license, certification or
registration requirements.

(a) During periods when the licensee, certificate holder or
registrant is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States and deployed outside of this state, and for six
months after discharge from active duty, his or her license,
certification or registration shall continue in good standing and
shall be renewed, upon receipt of a waiver request pursuant to
subsection (b):

(1) Without meeting continuing education requirements for the
license, certification or registration when:

(A) Circumstances associated with the military duty prevent
the obtaining of continuing education, or

(B) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant performs
the profession or occupation as part of his or her military duties,
as may be evidenced by annotation on Defense Department Form 214
(DD214), National Guard Bureau Form 22 (NGB22) or other official
record; and

(2) Without payment of fees for the renewal of the license,
certification or registration.

(b) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant shall
submit a waiver request to the appropriate board, informing the
board of circumstances which include, but are not limited to, being
deployed outside of this state.

§30-1B-4. Licensure, certification or registration of spouses of
persons on military active duty outside this state; extension
of licenses or registration; waiver of certain license,
certification or registration requirements.

(a) During periods when the licensee, certificate holder or
registrant is accompanying his or her spouse who is on active duty
as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and deployed
outside of this state, and for six months after his or her spouse
is discharged from active duty, his or her license, certification
or registration shall continue in good standing and shall be
renewed, upon receipt of a waiver request pursuant to subsection
(b):

(1) Without meeting continuing education requirements for the
license, certification or registration when:

(A) Circumstances associated with accompanying his or her
spouse who is on active duty prevent the obtaining of continuing
education, or

(B) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant presents
evidence that he or she performs or performed the profession or
occupation while accompanying his or her spouse on active duty; and

(2) Without payment of fees for the maintenance or renewal of
the license, certification or registration.

(b) The licensee, certificate holder or registrant shall
submit a waiver request to the appropriate board informing the
board of circumstances which include, but are not limited to,
accompanying a spouse who is deployed outside of this state.

§30-1B-5. Temporary licensure, certification or registration of
spouses of persons on military active duty; waiver of certain
license, certification or registration fees.

(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the spouse of a
person who is on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the
United States shall be issued a temporary license, certification or
registration by a board referred to in this chapter within thirty
days of submitting the following to the board:

(1) A completed application for temporary license,
certification or registration, as developed by the board;

(2) The required application fee;

(3) Proof that the applicant is married to a member of the
Armed Forces of the United States who is on active duty; and

(4) Proof that the applicant holds a valid license,
certification or registration for the profession issued by another
state, the District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of
the United States, and whose license, certification or registration
is not and has not been the subject of disciplinary action in that
jurisdiction.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), a board may require the
applicant to submit to a criminal history records check, to be paid
for by the applicant, and the board may deny a request for a
temporary license, certification or registration if the criminal
history records check provides reason to believe that the applicant
does not meet the requirements of the board or presents a safety
risk to the public.

(c) A temporary license expires six months after the date of
issuance and is not renewable.

(d) An applicant under this section may submit an application
for waiver of the temporary license application fee, and the board
shall grant the waiver if the applicant has paid a fee for his or
her previous license, certification, or registration in another
state, the District of Columbia, or a possession or territory of
the United States, within six months immediately prior to
submitting an application for temporary license, certification or
registration. The applicant shall provide proof of the date and
amount of the previous payment.

§30-1B-6. Rule-making authority.

The Boards referred to in this chapter may propose rules for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to implement the
provisions of this article. Proposed rules may:

(1) Establish criteria or requirements for military education,
training and experience that qualify the applicant to take an
examination for licensure, certification or registration or for a
waiver of any examination requirement to be licensed, certified or
registered; and

(2)Implement the provisions of this article while ensuring
competency, protecting the citizens of this state from harm, and
addressing issues specific to each profession.

§30-1B-7. Data collection.

The Boards referred to in this chapter shall collect data
about whether an applicant or his or her spouse is an active duty
member of the Armed Forces of the United States on all application
forms for licensure, certification or registration, and include
data regarding the numbers of temporary licenses and waivers of
fees and continuing education requirements in the annual reports
required by the provisions of section seventeen, article one of
this chapter.

§30-1B-8. Applicability.

The provisions of this article do not apply to the boards
referred to in this chapter whose license, certification, or
registration requirements are subject to the provisions of article
twenty-four of this chapter.

§30-1B-9. Liberality of construction.

This article shall be liberally construed and applied to
promote the public interest.